MACCLESFIELD HARRIERS Runners relish cross-country challenge
MACCLESFIELD Harriers love competing in cross country over the autumn and winter months.
There’s a great sense of club camaraderie, and the off-road courses provide a change from tarmac.
Conditions underfoot can be muddy and slippery from rain but tackling slippery corners at speed is all part of the fun.
More than 125 Harriers have taken part this season in the two cross country leagues the club competes in.
Following some top individual and team results and awards in the North Staffs League, team members were looking forward to the New Year and the final two races in the Manchester Area Cross Country League (MACCL). This series consists of five races in various parks in Manchester and its surroundings.
At the final MACCL race on Saturday 9 February Sian Heslop won the U17 girls’ race while a sprint finish in the U13 boys’ race resulted in Phillip Goodfellow being pipped into 2nd place by just a nose. Philip also finished second overall in the League for his age group.
Rachel Hall was 6th in the senior women’s race and was overall 3rd place woman in the League.
Flo Cooke and Rebecca Dilworth also won medals in the U13 girls’ category, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively overall while Finley Proffitt was 3rd overall in the U17 boys.
Not to be outdone by the youngsters, James Noakes was 3rd overall in the men’s veteran over 50 category.
There have been some great individual and team performances across the age groups in championship events too.
In the Cheshire Championships in January the U13 boys won their team competition, with Philip Goodfellow overall race winner and Aadi Whitlock close behind in 3rd place.
Flo Cooke was 3rd in the U13 girls’ race. The U17 boys, U15 boys and senior ladies teams won silver medals in their categories and the senior men’s team bronze, showing that success depends on the whole team’s performance.
The Northern Cross Country Championship was at Pontefract Racecourse on January 26.
In horse racing terms the going would have been described as ‘good’ with not much mud to contest and a relatively flat course.
The U13 boys fielded a strong team of five, with excellent performances from Philip Goodfellow (5th) and Aadi Whitlock (9th).